aceravsásperaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: acera is a noun, áspera is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“acera” is a noun and “áspera” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#14,997
“acera” frequency rank
#37,391
“áspera” frequency rank
52388
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature acera áspera
Definition Orilla de la calle por la que se efectúa el tránsito peatonal. Forma del femenino singular de áspero.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set acera and áspera apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
acera
6 ch
áspera

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: acera is [aˈseɾa] while áspera is [ˈaspeɾa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52388, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

acera is recorded at frequency rank #14,997, classified as anoun, pronounced [aˈseɾa]. áspera is at rank #37,391, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaspeɾa].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 52388, this pair ranks #92,955 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of acera vs áspera

Shared letters: aer. Private to "acera": c. Private to "áspera": psá.

"acera" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "áspera" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aceraaccera · acear · acerra · acrea · aecra · asera · caera

Frequency comparison

acera#14,997
áspera#37,391

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "acera" and "áspera" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "acera" is a noun and "áspera" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "acera" or "áspera"?
"acera" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,997 in our Spanish list, against #37,391 for "áspera". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering acera vs áspera

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “acera”; for an adjective, it's “áspera”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “acera” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list